Let’s talk about something near and dear to my heart; it’s October and nearly Halloween. ‘Tis the season for horror of all sorts, skulls and pumpkins, and fall vistas that look like the intro to many of the early Halloween movies. At least we’ve got that to get excited about. But also, it’s Monday which means new metal time so there’s another happy thing. This week brings us the next chapter of Pallbearer‘s trajectory which finds them back at their concise and to the point doom but, really, better than ever. Next up is a twofer of death metal starting with the brutal sort with Distant and the old school, rattle the coffins sort with Undeath. And, closing out the top spots is an alcohol fueled, four-on-the-floor, sinewy metal return from Raging Speedhorn. Better get your nasty decorating done and your costumes ready, or, just line up a long list of deliciously vicious horror movies. Dig in below for the rest of the new metal, tons to explore.

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Pallbearer – Forgotten Days (Nuclear Blast) – doom

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Distant – Dawn of Corruption (Unique Leader) – slam / death metal

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Undeath – Lesions of a Different Kind (Prosthetic) – death metal 

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Raging Speedhorn – Hard To Kill (Red Weed) – metal

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Also on tap:

Acrolysis & Reaver – The Nobody Crowd, EP (Independent) – heavy metal

Anthea – Illusion (Rockshots) – symphonic metal 

Armored Saint – Punching the Sky (Metal Blade Records) – heavy metal

Basque – Reversed Reflection (Rockshots) – symphonic metal 

Big Scenic Nowhere – Lavender Blues (Heavy Psych Sounds) – rock / prog

Black Fate – Ithaca (Rockshots) – power / prog

Bleakheart – Dream Griever (Sailor Records) – doomgaze

Böndbreaker – S/T (Independent) – punk / metal

Carnal Ruin – The Damned Lie Rotting (Redefining Darkness) – death metal

Celestial Season – The Secret Teachings (Burning World) – doom metal

Ceremonial Bloodbath – The Tides of Blood (Sentient Ruin) – bestial death metal

Coexistence – Collateral Dimension (Transcending Obscurity) – tech death

Coil – The Voice of Silver / A Hair of Gold (Cold Spring) – esoteric / experimental

Convulsif – Extinct (Hummus) – grind

Cortez – Sell The Future (Ripple Music) – heavy metal

Counting Hours – The Will (The Vinyl Division) – dark rock

Defecto – Duality (Black Lodge) – metal

Demonical – World Domination (Agonia Records) – death metal

Entropy Created Consciousness – Antica Memoria Di Dis (Independent) – black / doom

Epitimia – Allusion (Onism Productions) – post-black metal

Gruzja & Neon Scaffold – Konflikt (Devoted Art Propaganda) – avant [premiere]

Hammerfall – Live! Against the World (Napalm) – power metal 

Hedon – In Blasphemy Reborn (Downfall) – black / death / thrash

Invincible Force – Decomposed Sacramentum (Dark Descent) – black / thrash

Iskandr – Gelderse Poort (Eisenwald) – black metal

Kevel – Mutatis Mutandis (I, Voidhanger) – atmospheric black metal 

Koniec Pola – trop (Devoted Art Propaganda) – avant 

Kosmovorous – Glorification Sermons, EP (I, Voidhanger) – black metal

Leaves’ Eyes – The Last Viking (AFM) – viking / power

Mörk Gryning – Hinsides Vrede (Season of Mist) – black metal

Mors Principium Est – Seven (AFM) – melodic death metal 

Nocte Obducta – Irrlicht (Supreme Chaos) – black metal

Noosed – Rise (Trepanation Recordings) – grind

Old Mother Hell – Lord of Demise (Cruz Del Sur Music) – power metal

Pitchblack – Death & Disbelief (Emanzipation Recordings) – death metal

Prometheus – Resonant Echoes From Cosmos of Old (I, Voidhanger) – black / death 

Rïcïnn – Nereïd (Blood Music) – dark folk

Selfless Orchestra – Great Barrier (Stock Records) – post rock

Slowfall – Beneath the Endless Rains (Inverse) – melodic death metal 

Solitary – The Truth Behind the Lies (Metalville) – thrash

Somnus Throne – S/T (Burning World) – psych doom

Songs of Anhubis – Reversed Reflection (Rockshots) – gothic metal

Strangelight  – Adult Themes (Independent) – noise rock 

Supruga – Хаос / Никто не в безопасности (Petrichor) – metal / sludge

Thanatopsis – Initiation (Extreme Metal Music) – extreme

The Dead Yesterdays – Tensely Waiting (Independent) – harsh noise / drone

Thrashwall – S/T (Firecum) – thrash 

Uncle Woe – Phantomescence (Packard Black Productions) – sludge / doom

Vessel of Light – Last Ride (Nomad Eel) – doom metal

Vetus Supulcrum – Windswept Canyons of Thule (Burning World) – castle metal

Vitam Aeternam – The Self-Aware Frequency (Crime) – experimental 

Wobbler – Dwellers of the Deep (Karisma) – prog rock

– Josh